Bafana coach Hugo Broos has cautioned his team against underestimating Lesotho in their World Cup qualifier on Friday.
South Africa take on the Crocodiles at the Peter Mokaba Stadium before jetting off to the Ivory Coast to face Benin at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny on Tuesday.
While Broos’ side are currently in second place in Group C with seven points from their opening four games, Lesotho are just two places and two points worse off.
Bafana last overcame South Sudan 3-0 as Lesotho suffered a 7-0 defeat to Morocco.
But Broos expects a tough encounter against their local neighbours.
The head coach said in the Citizen: “Lesotho are a team that really fight for each other. They fight for each and every ball in every metre and they’re playing against SA.
“They can always do something more against SA than against other teams because they are neighbours. It will be a tough game.”
Broos added that he expects his side to come away with a result despite being short of a few key defenders due to injury, namely Kaizer Chiefs’ Rushwin Dortley.
“We’re strong enough with the defenders we have, so for me it [Dortley’s absence] is not a problem for the moment,” he said.